Turning a Payment Plan Into an Option to Buy: Lessons from a Creative .AI Deal
One of the things I love most about being a domain broker is getting to speak with entrepreneurs and people launching new businesses or products. It's an exciting time in their lives—full of vision, ideas, and momentum.-2.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
There’s nothing like seeing a domain you helped them secure turn into something real. Sometimes that’s a billboard in Times Square (Finally.com), or a brand front and center in a national ad campaign.
That’s always a proud moment. But honestly, what’s even better is when a client brings me into the process early, we find the right name together, and that domain becomes the foundation of their brand. It turns into something real—an actual working product, service, or company.
We see all kinds of situations. Some companies are well-funded and deep into execution. Others are at the earliest stages—no product, no market yet, just an idea. I recently had a situation with a client that was more of the latter. They weren’t ready to pull the trigger. They had a domain in mind, but they didn’t want to spend $30,000 to $50,000 on a name they might not even use. They liked the domain but weren’t 100% committed to it. At the same time, they knew that if this project did move forward, they’d need a name in the next 4 to 6 months—and this one was at the top of their list.
Here’s what we were dealing with:
The Domain/Seller Side:
- It was a .AI domain name.
- The domain had a BIN (Buy It Now) price listed in Euros.
- It had a payment plan option available.
- It was listed on multiple marketplaces, which told me the seller was likely an investor but at the very least, savvy.
- .AI Whois is usually pretty limited, slim pickings there.
The Buyer Side:
- They were 6 months out from making any real moves.
- Budget was very limited—especially if the project didn’t move forward.
- They had this domain picked out but were still open to alternatives.
- They were concerned about the price going up or someone else scooping it up in the meantime.
Looking at the situation, I figured this seller was an investor and probably wouldn’t be thrown off by an offer that wasn’t "standard." The fact that the domain was listed across multiple platforms, had pricing in Euros, and offered installment plans showed flexibility. Even though .AI is hot right now, the truth is most investors holding .AI domains didn’t spend crazy money acquiring them, and while they’re valuable, the buyer pool is still smaller than .COM. So, in this case, I felt we had a shot at getting creative.
After thinking it through, I told my client: “Why don’t we lock this name down now with a small upfront payment and negotiate an option to buy it later?”
The idea was simple:
Pay the seller $3,000 now for the exclusive option to buy the domain within four months.
If they decide to buy, they pay $15,000.
If they walk away, they lose the $3,000—but they’re not obligated to complete the deal.
The domain stays unused during the option period (no email, no website, nothing live).
We do all of it at Escrow.com.
To me, this was a fair setup for everyone. The seller gets $3,000 to take the name off the market temporarily. The buyer gets to hold their top pick while they decide if the business is moving forward. If it does, great—they have the domain. If not, they’re only out a few grand. That’s a pretty low-risk, high-upside move for a startup.
I reached out to the seller, and that’s when I got a reply from his representative. My first thought was, “Here we go.” Due to my success in the domain industry, I’ve had situations where my inquiry leads sellers to assume the buyer is sitting on a pile of cash. I’ve seen prices go up overnight just because they saw my name in the inquiry. So, I knew we had to tread carefully here.
As expected, the initial response was that the seller preferred a standard payment plan—something more traditional, like what was already listed on the lander. To be honest, that made sense on their side. But it didn’t match the buyer’s situation. So, I explained it clearly:
“This buyer hired me more for consultation than for execution right now. They're not ready to buy. They’re just exploring. But if this project goes forward, they’ll need a domain—and this one is at the top of the list. If we can lock it down now in a way that limits risk, we might have a deal. If not, we’ll revisit it in four months.”
I was transparent with the seller’s representative. I told him four months is a long time; there was a good chance the buyer could find another name in the meantime, possibly for a lot less, and walk away entirely. But if we close this now, the domain will be locked in, and the buyer will stop shopping. They name their product, commit to the branding, and everyone wins.
Thankfully, the seller’s representative did a good job of convincing, and the seller was open to the structure. We nudged the numbers a bit and struck a deal.
The result?
The buyer got the domain they wanted, without taking on full risk upfront.
The seller got reasonable terms and a guaranteed pile of cash with minimal risk.
And I got to be a part of another fun and strategic deal that hopefully helped turn an idea into something real.
These are the types of deals I love—ones where we get creative, everyone is happy with the outcome, and a domain becomes a launchpad for something big. I look forward to letting everyone know what they do with it when the time is right.
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